Uganda’s Premier, Ruhakana Rugunda on Tuesday held a high level meeting with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) boss, Godfrey Mutabazi over the controversial SIM CARD registration exercise.
According to Pamela Ankunda, head of public and international relations at UCC, they held discussions on the progress of the campaign.
“He said at the end of seven days, a progress review will be made and a decision communicated,” Ankunda revealed after the meeting.
Meanwhile, campaigners in Uganda have asked a High Court to scrap a government order for all Ugandans to re-register their Sim cards by Thursday.
There are an estimated 19 million mobile phone users in the country.
The directive gave Ugandans seven days to verify their details using a National Identity Card, a document that not everybody has, following its introduction two years ago.
The government says the move is necessary to track criminals, amid heightened security concerns following the murder of the country’s police spokesperson last month.
But there are concerns over the order’s legality and whether mobile phone companies can register everyone on time.
Campaigners say seven days is not enough time for people to carry re-register their Sims, especially when shops were closed for four of them because of the Easter break.
They are also saying that it’s unfair foreigners are being allowed to use their passports, while Ugandans are not.
